Merry Monks | Weyerbacher Brewing Co.

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Merry Monks is bottle conditioned which imparts a special effervescence to the beer and a creamier carbonation. The ongoing fermentation inside the bottle will change the character of the beer as it ages and you’ll find it becomes dryer with age. You may want to lay down a few bottles for future evaluation. We suggest storing at cellar temperatures (around 55°F) and away from light.

This brew is available year-round. Keep your eye out for Merry Monks in 25 oz. cork-and-cage champagne bottles for an exceptional experience!

Reviews by BCMan:

This beer is a deep honey color that foamed slightly upon pouring but it faded to a weather pattern thinly covering the top. Light citrus nose is a good indication of the flavor. Taste is fruity, of lemon. Not much of an after tatse. Mouthfeel is thin which suits the crisp flavor. Overall, a decend version of the Belgian style golden ale. I would recommend. Another good beer from Weyerbacher.

More User Reviews:

How in THE heck have I not reviewed this one previously? I recently began a new job at the reopened & revamped Molly's Carryout & today (Day 3), I got assigned to prestage one of our upcoming distributor's orders. That meant a good bit of time spent in the cooler where I found a number of hidden gems in the Mix-n-Match section, including this one. I assembled a sweet sixer before knocking off for the evening & coming home.

From the bottle: "Belgian-Style Tripel Ale".

It is somehow at once both stunning & ironic that I have not reviewed this beer until now. Those that may know me IRL will attest to the fact that I am often dressed in the garb of Brother Woody of The Order of Disorder, my homage to these brewing pioneers. I could only bring myself to perform a gentle pour once I had Pop!ped the cap. The Merry Monks encourage silence & it was not my intent to stir things up. Heck, I was even reluctant to give it an in-glass swirl until Bro. Dan gave me the nod. It did not really seem to matter how hard I agitated it, I could not raise much more than a brief finger of fizzy, bone-white head that was simply determined to fall back to wisps. Color was Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7) with NE-quality clarity & since they had not left following the previous beer, the Gelt Gang of Mammon, Midas & Croesus did an about-face & came charging in for a sip. I just can't win at times. Nose was very fruity, like white grapes, pears, green apples and golden raisins. Mmmm. I am really anticipating this one! Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not as carbonated as I had expected, but blanketing on my tongue. The taste remained very fruity, especially of grapes & pears, but there was also good bit of fusel alcohol heat to remind me to go slowly. It had a vinousness like white wine and I had been discussing just this kind of taste earlier today with a sales rep. It did not have the oakiness that some white wines evince, but it did have that grape-y flavor with a dry heat. Finish was quite dry and slightly hot. The bottle indicated that it could age for up to two years so I am going to snag another one & put it in my cellar. This deserves another visit, but with some age on the next one.

Yellow /orange cloudy color. Aroma of clove,spice, and some fruit.good amount of carbonation and a mellow amount of heat despite the high abv. Taste is identical to smell but more complex with different spice,fruit and yeast coming through. I think American triples get judged against beers like westmalle which is in a league of its own. This is one of my favorite beers and I always have a few stored waiting to be opened. Have had it on tap at the brewery and in bottle and can't praise it enough

Just what I expected a tripel to be. Pours golden with a nice fading bread. Fizzy carbonation. Complex flavors and a nice balance of malt and hops. And unusual dry finish. The higher alcohol shows up a bit in the after taste and because it warms your chest when it goes down. But it'll creep up on you.

L: Pour a pretty clear golden copper with a tight white head. Lively off the bat, good foamy head retention and a steady stream of bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass.

S: Sage, banana, clove and honey. A bit of a musty cellar quality, Trappist yeast and some mealy pears. The aroma isn’t as pronounced as I would have liked, but it’s likely that has to do with the nearly two years on this bottle.

T: Delicate, sweet pilsner malt paired with spicy yeast and some ethanol. Some soft fruit notes of banana and pears, following the aroma, with hints of agave syrup in the finish.

F: Medium-bodied with pretty abundant, soft creamy carbonation. A nice silkiness on the palate, creating a very soft sensation with a little bit of warmth from the alcohol.

Thoughts: One of my favorite domestic Tripels, and easily the best value. It’s a travesty how overlooked this beer is, from a similarly overlooked brewery. Quality flavor, great appearance and superb mouthfeel.

A random selection from the store this evening and I was greatly surprised. As soon as I opened the bottle the fragrance was amazing very fruity (not perfume like , as someone else reviewed). Great Blond color, and nice lacing from the head. And deeeelicious with the first mouthful. Refreshing, full of flavor, a very well crafted beer. Well done Weyerbacker!

Like this a bit better than its in state rival. Pours slightly hazy gold, good head with great bubbles. Aroma is fruity and malty with slight edge from yeast and hops. Spicy sweet full flavor rounded by lemony bitterness from yeast mostly. On many nights it's my favorite mass produced US version of the style.

Weyerbacher is becoming one of those brewers I am keeping an eye out. When I saw this Merry Monks offering, I snapped it up - I am sure glad I did.

Though there is no lacing or true head to speak of, the brew has a very nice yellowish hue with distinct highlights, in and out of the sun. The smell is very specific to its Tripel nature as well as the mouthfeel. Though the feel has a high carbonation at the front end, but smooths out nicely on the back, very nice actually. The taste was absolutely amazing, the tripel with hints of spice, citrus, and something else I just couldn't identify. It was all so, so, very good. I wish I had more than the one I picked up as part of a "pick-your-own-sixer". I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for this one, for sure.

New artwork! Pours a golden apple color with a fuzzy head of 2 fingers.

Aroma of apples, pears, clove, yeast breadiness, slight berries.

Loudest notes here are clove and alcohol. Some yeasty flavors along with alcohol soaked apple and pear, and again a little berry wine here. I'm not getting the cherry or raspberry flavors that others are getting. Perhaps they redid the recipe when they changed the label. The taste profile is not outstanding but it quenches really well when I'm *in the mood* for a tripel.

Feel is biting, crisp, and dry. Very carbonated, almost painful in the belly.

Overall, this beer is okay. I remember hearing about it having lots of fruit elements to it and I'm not getting that here. Perhaps they just redid the recipe. i'd have liked to taste the one that had all the fruitiness.

pours a hazy peachy amber with a medium head. nose; stinging belgian yeast and candied banana. taste; immediate boozy belgian yeast and coriander spice, with lightly bitter hop, big pear juice and banana sweets in the middle. dry finish and funky belgian yeast, clean pilsner malt and pear on the aftertaste (a tiny bit bubble gum as well after a bit). i always love when a belgian ale has the fruit core to keep cutting through the funk, and merry monks delivers. definitely a touch hot on the 9.3% abv contributing to the spice on the finish. above average.

An old favorite, from one of Pennsylvanias best and most innovative breweries. I like the newer label ,reminds us that this brew is made with a real abbey yeast strain and is a take on a European abbey trippel. Golden colored hazy a creamy white head.Poured quickly the head really foams up starts to disappear after a few minutes. Aroma of banana clove and pear and tastes exactly like the smell .The flavors are excellently balanced with the 9.3% alcohol ...other American brewers aim for this balance but often don't achieve it.A beer which doesn't pair well with most foods but I've enjoyed it with chocolate and chocolate desserts and sipping after a good meal is always enjoyable.

Surprised I've never rated this, Bottle from Harvest market.
Deep yellow gold color without much of a head. Sweet bready malt candi sugar and light clove an bubble gum. Its a bit sweet for a tripel but it is pretty tasty.

Purchased a bomber a few weeks ago and placed it in the closet for safe keeping. Chilled it and cracked it open this evening. The beer is hazy when poured and with a small amount of foam on the top. Drinks smooth for a beer with a higher ABV. I'd like to buy a few ore of these and let them age. Winter time would be a good time to do this around Virginia. Would drink again

Apricot color hazy with yeast. Pleasant effervescence, apple aroma up front, with a head that yields quickly to the glass. Taste is apple, banana, pear and spice. Drinks like a Trappist ale that wants to be a Champagne. If you love champagne but feel it's impractical to uncork a bottle just for the hell of it, consider giving Merry Monks a try. Stupendous.

Appearance: Pours a deep gold with a slight amber hue to it, with just an inch of head that lingers for around 5-10 minutes.

Aroma- Much less spice dominant than other American Tripels, and I’m getting a much more traditional aroma of Belgian yeast first and foremost, bubblegum, and banana. No real presence of alcohol in the nose.

Taste- Strikes the balance of sweetness damn-near perfectly for the style, and it comes across as pretty damn dry with the heavy emphasis on the yeast in the flavor. It actually follows the nose perfectly. Far less spice prominent than some other triples, taking a more traditional approach that’s bursting with sweet, dry flavor. While some American tripels taste more like candy in a glass, this drinks more like something you might actually find in Belgium.

Mouthfeel- Medium bodied with a fair amount of carbonation, but retains an exceptionally smooth feel. Whereas carbonation heavy beers can sometimes feel “prickly”, this one almost has the smoothness of nitro with its carbonation.

Overall- An excellent, more traditional take on the classic style. Whether this, or a more Americanized version like Golden Monkey is better is simply a matter of preference. Want something that focuses more on the flavor of the yeast, is a little more dry, and less sweet? Go with this. Want something that tastes like spiced holiday candy in a glass? Go with Golden Monkey. Either way, you can’t go wrong.

Overall: Has a yeasty, fruity, malty aroma. The usual Belgian tripel flavor components of yeast, light malt, banana and cloves -- but these are in much better balance than is often the case, and with a bit more malt flavor showing through. Slightly sweet and moderately tart. This is excellent even by true Belgian standards: plenty of complexity, well-balanced flavors, fine finish and aftertaste.

Part of the "Big Beer" variety pack I picked up today,pours a medium golden color with alot of carbonation a nice frothy white head comes from the pour.The aroma is a little spicey and smokey,a nice spicey lightly sweet flavor to this beer pretty authentic here a powdered sugar flavor lingers with the spicieness the overwhelming flavor that I get.Just a tad on the thin side but still a really nice brew from Weyerbacher.

Pretty yellow amber color with tons, and I mean tons, of carbonation. 3/8th inch bubbly white head with flawless retention. Great looker! Aroma is like many Americanized Belgians, banana yeast, candied sugar, and a touch of the tropics. Slight hints of cotton candy to boot. Taste matches aroma with some strong sensations of rum like alcohol sugars. Warming, sweet, and boozy with minimal character or depth.

A: Pale gold with excellent clarity and a long lasting, rocky off-white head.

S: Moderate fruity esters of apples and oranges with moderately-light spice and pepper notes. The alcohol and hops bring a perfumey and floral notes to the party. It hits the right style points but there all some what faint.

T: The taste is a good blend of fruitieness, spice and alcohol with flavors of moderately-strong orange, apples with moderate pepper, spice and a soft, spicy alcohol note. There a medium amount of bitterness with a low spicy hops flavor.

M: A medium-light body with moderately-high carbonation and some alcohol warmth.

O: The flavor is more on point than the nose, both hit the right points for style. There are other Golden Strongs I could have all night but I could only have a glass of this in a sitting, though I will definitely have another some other day.